Rebs look ahead to Atlanta

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
March 8, 2004
OXFORD Ole Miss isn't counting itself out just yet.
Saturday's 55-45 comeback win over Arkansas the worst team in the Southeastern Conference may not have been pretty, but it nonetheless brought an end to the Rebels' five-game losing streak. More importantly, players said, it gives the team some much-needed momentum heading into this week's SEC tournament in Atlanta.
The Rebels, the No. 5 seed out of the SEC West Division, will begin play at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday against East Division fourth seed Vanderbilt (19-8, 8-8 SEC), a team which pounded Ole Miss 77-65 on Feb. 25.
A first-round win would leave the Ole Miss in a situation all too familiar. In last year's tournament, Ole Miss fell one win short of a .500 record when it fell to Mississippi State in the second round.
Should Ole Miss win its opening game, it would face the SEC champion Bulldogs again, and once again would need an upset win to be eligible for the postseason. Mississippi State has already beaten the Rebels twice this season.
But the Georgia Dome has been unfriendly turf for the Rebels in recent seasons. Since Ole Miss went to the SEC Tournament finals in 2001, the Rebels are just 1-2 in the event.
Including SEC Tournament contests, Ole Miss has lost 23 of its last 27 league road games over the last three seasons.
Still, Barnes sees in this year's Rebels flashes of the traits that took Ole Miss to six straight postseason tournaments from 1997-2002.
And after Saturday's comeback over Arkansas, Reed said the Rebels believe they can topple the Commodores and anyone else they meet in Atlanta.